Rotary-rod weeder



a 3 4 4 s l R E .0. EF. FE W 00 W0 in" KY M T 0 DH Jan. 23, 1923.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

EILED JAN. 17 1922.

L o W K Jan. 23, 1923. 1,443,245. 4

H. K. WOLFE.

ROTARY ROD WEED ER.

FILED JAN. 11. 1922. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Jan. 23, 51923.

UNITED STATES 1,443,245 PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY K. WOLFE, or CHENEY, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO ROTARY non WEEDER &

MFG. 00., INCORPORATED, or CHENEY, WASHINGTON.

ROTARY-ROD WEEDER.

Application filed January 1'7, 1922. Serial No. 529,965.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY K. l/VOLFE, a citizen of the United States, at present residing at Cheney, in the county of Spokane and State of \Vashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotarysltod VVeeders, ofwhich the following i from the vehicle, as a unit, thereby eliminating the necessity of using drive chain tighteners or universal joints, etc., such as are employed in the weeders above referred to; another object is to mount the ground wheel and allof the driving connections between it and the rotary rod in a single standard which is constructed toqconstitute a boot that encloses and protects the power transmitting mechanism and forms a container, if desired, for lubricant; again it is an object of theinvention to provide a simple and inexpensive weeder wherein provision is made to enable the rod to be automatically depressed into the ground or raised therefromtwhen draft is applied to the vehicle to move it forwardly) accordingly as the attendant places his weight tothe rear.

01' to the front of the vehicle. thereby greatly facilitating the operation of the apparatus.

.The invention also resides in those novel features of construction, combinationand arrangement of parts, all of which will be fully described and then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which: s

Figure 1 1s a perspective view of one em bodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section ofa portionthereof, on a small scale, illustrating the position of the parts when the rod is beneath the surface ot the ground.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2,

illustrating the position ofthe parts when the rod has been elevated from the ground,

the arrow 22 in Figures 2 and 3 indicating the place of application'of the attendants weight to effect the. positioning of the parts as indicated. V

Figure 4 is a detail section taken vertically through the boot-standard and showing one form of power transmittingconnectrons. i

Figures 5 and 6 are detail views, on a small scale, of a modification of the struc ture' shown in Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a detail view of a modification of the invention, the parts being in the position in which the rotary rod is'operative, the arrow 22 indicating the place of the application of the attendants weight to effect the positioning of the parts asindicated.

Figure 8 is another view of the, parts shown in Figure 7 showing the position of the parts when the rod is out of the ground. the place of the attendants weight being indicated by the arrow 22. i

Figures 9 and 10 are detail views of another modification. Figures 11 and 12 are detail views of still a further modification.

In the drawings in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in all of the figures, the vehicle is composed, of side beams or bars 1 connected bycross bars 3 and suitable braces 8, the cross bars 3 being connected by a plank 4 whichextends from the front to the rear of the vehicle. At the front, the bars 1 are provided with down wardly extended skids or runners 2 which are adapted to drag along the ground .(see Figure 2). i I I The vehicle is moved forward in the usual way by horse or tractor power connected to the pull 7 which is, in turn, connected to the hitch bar 6 that is linked at 5 to the vehicle.

Therotary rod 17 and the power applymg and transmitting mechanism therefor,

in the present .invention,constitutes a unit which comprises standards 9 and 11, the

standard 9 may be of the ordinary flat bar construction and isprovided at its lower end with a suitable bearing for the rod 17 and is secured at 10 to the rearwardly projecting portion of one of the bars 1 and is likewise rigidly secured at 12 to the opposite bar 1.. The standard 11 is so formed as to constitute a boot and it is provided with suitable bearings for the rod 17. The standard :11 is provided with a relatlvely sharp or narrow front edge'13 from whichv project, rearwardly, beveled surfaces 14 that aid in penetrating the ground as the vehicle 1s drawn forward.

The ground wheel 15 is mounted on a stubtrain of gears such as shown in Figure 41-, the

shaft 16 may transmit its power to the rod 17 througl'i beveled gears 23 anda countershaft 24, as shown in Figure 5, or the shaft 16 and rod .17 may be provided with sprockets 25 connected. by a driving chain 26, as shown in Figure 6.

In the operation and use of the invention when draft is applied to move the vehicle forwardly and the operator stands to the rear of the rod 17, on the platform 4t, as for instance indicated by the arrow 2'2 in Figure 2, the rod17 will automatically enter the ground and by moving backwardly or forwardly while remaining to the rear of the rod 17 the operato-rcan control the distance of penetration of the rod 17 through the mere shifting of his \veight on the plank 4: on which he stands, of course, to drive the horses when the vehicle is being pulled by horse power.

By moving forwardly to the position indicated for instance by the arrow 22 in Figure 3, the weight tending to cause penetration of the rod 17 is relieved and the forward pull on the'vehicle causes the rod 17 to be lifted out of the ground, as indicated in Figure 3, in which position the vehicle may be transported in an inoperative condition.

In case of injury to the rotary rod or the transmitting connections from the ground wheel 15, the members 9 and 11 may be un'-' bolted from the beams 1 and removed as a unit for the purposes of repair.

Furthermore by the arrangement shown and described, the correct adjustmentof the rod for depth in the ground is greatly facili tated.

The boot 11 may be provided with an opening 21 near its top through which suitable lubricant, oil or grease, may be supplied to the gears. I

It is to be observed that'the'point of con nection 27 of the straps 5 to the vehicle is such thatthe line of draft (see arrow 28 Figure 3) will fall above the point of fulcrum 29 of the skidQ with the ground and to the rear of'the place where the weight is applied (see arrow 22) so that the tendency of the draft pull along line 28 Figure 3 will be to lift the rear of the vehicle, thus aiding in effecting the withdrawal of the rod from the ground.

While the foregoing form of the invention is a preferred embodiment nevertheless the arrangement of parts shown in Figure 1 may be modified as indicated in Figures 7 and 8 so that the draft device will be located at the end opposite to that shown in Figure 1 in which event the runner 2 will preferably be curved both front andrear.

Instead of using the sled form of vehicle the wheeled form may be used indicated in Figures 9 to 12 inclusive and the draft may be applied to either end as indicated in Figures 9 and 10 on the one hand and 11 and. 12 on the other hand.

While I have shown the adaptation of the rotary rod unit to the vehicle of the sled and wheeled type design for being drawn over the ground by animal power or tractor power, other forms of vehicles can be used, as for instance a vehicle having its own driving power, the essential feature of the invention residing in the rotary rod unit and its propelling mechanism, the same being arranged as a unit so that it may be applied in unit form to or removed from the Vehicle whatever the construction of the vehicle, per se, may be.

From the. foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction, the operation and advantages of this invention will be clear to those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

What I claim is: I

1. In rotary rod weeders, a vehicle and a combined rod sustaining and propelling unit rigidly mounted on said vehicle. I

2. In rotary rod weeders, a tiltable. vehicle, means for applying draft to said vehiole, a combined rod sustaining and propelling'unit rigidly mounted on said vehicle and pendent therefrom, said vehicle and said unit being so related that by shifting weight on the vehicle from a position iii front of the rod to a position in back of the rod, the rod may be automatically entered into the ground and maintained below the surface thereof.

3. In rotary rod weeders, a vehicle comprising a sled having runners, from which extend elevated. members, and a combined rod sustaining and propelling unit mounted on said extending members.

4. In rotary rod weeders, a vehicle and a combined rod sustaining and propelling unit mounted on said vehicle and pendent therefrom, said unit comprising a rod carrying standard having a bearing, said standard being formed to constitute a boot, a ground wheel having a shaft journaled in said boot and power transmitting connections between said shaft and said rod and located within said boot. v

5. In rotary rod weeders, a vehicle and a combined rod sustaining and ropelling unit mounted on said vehicle anc pendent therefrom, said unit comprising a rod carrying standard having a bearing, said standard being formed to constitute a boot, a ground wheelhaving a shaft journaled in said boot and a gear train in the boot connecting said shaft and rod.

6. In rotary rod weeders, a vehicle comprising side bars and cross bars connecting said side bars and skids depending from the front portions of said side bars, and a plank on the cross bars extending, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, from front to back; a. combined rod sustaining and propelling unit mounted on said side bars and located to the rear of said skids, whereby a shifting of weight on said plank to the front of said rod will cause the rod to the same on the ground, said vehicle having rearwardly projected elevated members,

said sustaining means where it engages the ground being curved, a combined rod sustaining and propelling unit mounted on said rearwardly extended elevated portions of the vehicle and pendent therefrom and means on which a weight may be shiftably applied to the vehicle whereby, when said vehicle is drawn along and said weight is located in one position, the rotary rod will be elevated from the ground and, when the weight is located in another position, the rotary rod willbe depressed under the surface of the ground, substantially as shown and described;

8. In rotary rod Weeders, the combination with a vehicle, of standards pendent from the vehicle, a rotary rod journaled in bearings in said standards, one of said standards constituting a boot, a driving shaft mounted in bearings in said standard and a train of gearing connecting said driving shaft with said rotary rod and located within said boot, and means distinct from the vehicle itself and operative by contact with the ground for turning said driving shaft.

9. In rotary rod weeders, a :vehicle, a combined rodsustaining and propelling unit relatively fixedly mounted on said vehicle, means by which said vehicle may be moved. over the surface of the round and means by which the shiftable weight maybe placed on said vehicle to cause the rodto be depressed beneath or raised above the surface of the ground as the vehicle is moved over the ground, substantially asshown and described.

HENRY K. WOLFE. 

